


Can’t Deny It (This Is Love)

by heartlikethat



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: All Fluff! No Angst!, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, I think you see where I’m going with this one, Post-Finale, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, also some Tobin because I love him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26411125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartlikethat/pseuds/heartlikethat
Summary: Max comes to Zoey’s rescue, again.
Relationships: Zoey Clarke/Max Richman
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	Can’t Deny It (This Is Love)

**Author's Note:**

> So I was watching the “Fun Run” episode of _The Office_ and during a conversation between Jim and Pam the idea for this fic was ✨born✨
> 
> This takes place after the finale and the song used is “Adore You” by Harry Styles because it’s everywhere and it’s haunting me.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it 💜

As interim CEO of SPRQ Point, Joan had implemented The SPRQLR 5k, or as Zoey fondly referred to it as, mandated torture. It was for charity and she was happy to donate four times over in lieu of having to actually participate (Zoey did _exactly_ that and thought she had gotten herself out of it).

Joan, however, made it _abundantly_ clear that all employees would be running, regardless of how much money they donated ( _yes, I’m looking at you, Zoey_ ), unless being out of a job sounded like a better option.

So here Zoey was, video chatting with Max at 8 o’clock in the morning on the first Sunday in July.

“Mornin’ Zo. What’s your strategy for the big race today?” His voice was still thick with sleep and his curls were a perfectly tousled mess on the top of his head. Paired with the facial hair he had been sporting lately, Zoey had to admit that his new look was _really doing it for her_.

And while they had, in fact, discussed the events of _that night_ ad nauseam, the two agreed not to move forward with anything until they were both fully ready to do so.

Zoey needed to grieve and process the death of her father while Max had to work out what the future held for his career. Which, honestly, seemed to be going well as he just recently accepted a position as the Software Technical Manager of the Engineering Team at Niantic.

Zoey gave a sly smile as she answered his question. “Oh, I’ve got it all figured out. I’m going to start out fast, run fast in the middle, and then I’ll finish fast.”

She watched as Max’s face lit up with amusement and he let out a hearty chuckle. “Wow. Why don’t more people do that?”

“Because they’re stupid,” Zoey laughed with him a moment before she realized what time it was. “Ah, damn it. I have to go.” She grimaced. “Wish me luck!” Zoey ended the call and got ready to leave her apartment.

When she arrived at the SPRQ Point building where the race was set to begin, the first thing she noticed was Tobin. Tobin, with a sweatband around his head. And around his wrists. And around his ankles. Could he be wearing any _more_ sweatbands? She wondered this as she watched him do some _interesting_ stretches to loosen up his muscles for the run.

Zoey went to sign in and receive her bib number from the giant yellow tent. She sighed as she pinned the bib to her shirt and headed over to the starting line. She really was dreading this because cardio was not her _favorite_ thing in the world.

The starting gun fired and Zoey watched as everyone took off in front of her. She _swore_ she saw Tobin kick his leg out to the side before Glenn caught it and crashed to the ground, cursing loudly.

Tobin didn’t even spare a backward glance. “Sorry, bro!”

Zoey shook her head at his attempted sabotage as she fell into a leisurely walking pace before pulling on her headphones and firing up her _Analog Dialogue_ podcast. 

She had been walking a total of _maybe_ three minutes, everyone else way ahead of her (because they were actually _trying_ ), when she noticed a car slowly approaching out of her peripheral vision. _Suspiciously slow_. As the car pulled up to the curb, she quickly unzipped her fanny pack and grabbed her mace.

Turning toward the suspected assailant with the mace held steady out in front of her, she stopped abruptly once she recognized the car. It was Max’s Audi.

The window rolled down and Max’s smiling face came into view. “I was going to say hop on in, I’m here to rescue you, but now I don’t know. I’m feeling a little intimidated by you.”

Zoey gave him a cheeky smile as she put the mace away. 

“Okay, I feel much better. Now you can get in.”

Zoey pretended to mull it over. “I don’t know, I’m very committed to winning.”

“What if I told you there’s food involved?” At this point, Zoey was already walking over to his car, all pretense of caring about the race gone.

“Sold,” she opened the door and slid into the passenger seat, glancing at Max with gratitude written all over her face as she buckled her seatbelt. “Bless you.”

As Max pulled onto the road, Zoey fiddled with the radio before she remembered something.

“Hey, I’ve only got an hour. Tops. No one expects me to actually _run_ , but I don’t walk _that_ slow. And the race ends near—”

“Sue Bierman Park, I know. I might have looked it up,” he flashed her a quick smile before directing his attention back on driving. “And that’s right near my new place of employment, which is where I’m taking you because there’s this food truck parked right across the street. Four words — Donut Ice Cream Sandwich.”

“Max... _ice cream?_ It’s 9am!” She said in disbelief as she let out a small bark of laughter.

“What, did you not hear the donut part? Donuts are _wholly_ a breakfast food.”

“Pun intended?”

Max gave her a mock serious look before rolling his eyes and smiling at her. “Obviously.”

After Max parked the car and the two got out, Zoey looked down at the large white bib with the number “9639” pinned to her shirt.

“Here, I’ll take care of that.” Max said as he went to work on unfastening the pins, his fingers brushing lightly against her sides, somehow managing to sear her skin through the thin fabric of her shirt.

For one wild moment, Zoey considered lifting herself up on her toes and closing the distance between their mouths. But by the time she worked up the nerve, Max was already stepping away from her.

“There, now you’re incognito,” he whispered conspiratorially, winking at her before opening the car door to place the bib inside.

Zoey followed him across the street to where the Holey Cream food truck was parked and they both placed their order. Zoey’s stomach gave a rumble as the smell of freshly baked donuts wafted in her direction and she had to admit, Max might definitely be onto something here.

Food in hand, with a couple of coffees because, _yes caffeine_ , Max led her to a nearby bench so they could eat.

They had just taken a seat, Zoey almost moaning in delight as she bit into the donut sandwich when she heard the telltale opening notes of a heartsong.

__

She was surprised. It had been _months_ since she last heard Max sing to her, as he had been keeping a tight rein on his emotions whenever he was around her so she wouldn’t feel pressured into anything. To say she was grateful would be an understatement. But now, she was keenly anticipating whatever was about to come out of his mouth because today felt... _decidedly different_.

__

She watched and chewed thoughtfully as he started to sing, his hand coming up like he was about to cradle her face, but staying just out of reach as he fixed his gaze fondly on her.

__

_“Walk in your rainbow paradise. Strawberry lipstick state of mind. I get so lost inside your eyes, would you believe it?”_

__

For the next part, he jumped up on the bench, standing over her and tapping his foot to the beat.

__

_“You don’t have to say you love me, you don’t have to say nothing, you don’t have to say you’re mine”_

__

Max hopped down off the bench and began circling her with a few corresponding dance moves, really throwing himself into the whole performance now.

__

_“Honey, I’d walk through fire for you, just let me adore you. Oh honey, I’d walk through fire for you, just let me adore you”_

__

He fell to his knees on the ground in front of her, looking up at her with so much love and unfettered emotion burning in his eyes that it made Zoey’s breath catch in her throat.

__

_“Like it’s the only thing I’ll ever do, like it’s the only thing I’ll ever do”_

__

He stood up, still singing as he began to loop around the bench again, his hand trailing along the back of it and skimming against her shoulders with each pass. Zoey gave a jolt at the sensation as she followed Max’s movements with rapt attention.

__

_“Your wonder under summer skies, brown skin and lemon over ice, would you believe it? You don’t have to say you love me, I just wanna tell you something. Lately, you’ve been on my mind”_

__

Unlike before when Max would sing a heartsong, Zoey had no feeling of panic swelling up inside her this time. Instead, she just felt _happy_ and _buoyant_ and... _ready_ to take that next step with Max.

__

_“Honey, I’d walk through fire for you, just let me adore you. Oh honey, I’d walk through fire for you, just let me adore you. Like it’s the only thing I’ll ever do, like it’s the only thing I’ll ever do”_

__

Zoey could sense the song was winding down as Max sat back down next to her on the bench. He sang the last part softly as he grabbed her hand, his thumb sweeping over her knuckles and she marveled at how the featherlight touch managed to send shockwaves up her arm, making her feel electrified.

__

_“Oh honey, just let me adore you like it’s the only thing I’ll ever do”_

__

When the song ended, Zoey was snapped back to reality and Max was in the midst of enthusiastically recounting his week at work, which made Zoey smile as her heart soared. She had never seen him so excited and so confident about anything before. Not like this.

__

At SPRQ Point, he was only ever complacent, drifting along and while he was _fine_ and everything there was _good enough_ for him, it was clear that he had settled.

__

But now, as a manager at Niantic, he had truly come _alive_ and Zoey couldn’t help it that she was so unbelievably attracted to this new, self-assured side of Max. 

__

It was that thought on her mind as she finished her food and walked with Max back to his car so he could drop her off near the finish line.

__

When Max pulled the car to a stop at the park, Zoey shifted in her seat so her body was facing him.

__

“Max, thanks for saving me from having to do actual exercise today.” Her heart thudded heavily in her chest as she braced herself for what she wanted to say next, the words about to burst right out of her mouth.

__

Max tilted his head as he stared at her, that same flicker of love present in his eyes as a soft smile played on his lips. “Of course, Zo. You know I’d do anything for you. Because I care—”

__

“I love you,” she cut him off, “and I’m ready to do _this_ ,” she gestured between the two of them, “if you are.”

__

The stunned look on Max’s face lasted only a split second before it was replaced with the most breathtakingly beautiful smile Zoey had ever seen on him and she had a feeling her own expression mirrored his.

__

“Come here,” he said, already leaning over the console and reaching for her. Zoey met him halfway, fisting a hand in his shirt as their lips met.

She sighed blissfully against his mouth. Kissing Max was even better than she remembered.

__

Zoey was just about to deepen the kiss when a loud tap on the window caused them to spring apart, her elbow smacking hard into the glove compartment.

__

Zoey cursed, rubbing her elbow before glancing over Max’s shoulder where she saw Tobin’s face pressed against the window and giving them a thumbs up.

__

She groaned as she buried her face in her hands, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks.

__

_Of course_ it was Tobin. _Stupid_ Tobin and all of his _stupid_ sweatbands.

__

She removed her hands from her face and turned her attention back to Max, catching his eye before they both started laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

__

“Wanna come to family dinner tonight? My mom would love to see you.” Zoey asked once her laughter had subsided.

__

“Yeah,” Max was grinning widely. “I’ll pick you up at six.”

__

“Great! See you then.” She grabbed for her bib so she could secure it back on her shirt and “finish” the race. Upon exiting Max’s car, she came face-to-face with a smirking Tobin.

__

“Booyah! You’ve been caught, son! Just wait ‘til Joan hears about this.”

__

“Sure, sure. And I’ll just tell Joan exactly whose ferret chewed through the cords last week and caused the power outage.” Zoey crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows and shooting him a challenging glare.

__

Tobin held up his hands in surrender. “Geez, I thought finally _getting some _would make you less uptight.”__

____

__

____

Zoey wadded up her bib and aimed it at Tobin’s head. He laughed when it missed, doing a little victory dance. She unbuckled her fanny pack and hurtled it at him. This time, she didn’t miss her target and the resounding _*WHACK*_ was _oh so_ satisfying, it was practically music to her ears.

**Author's Note:**

> This is officially the last fic idea that was floating around in my brain so I’ll be going into hibernation until inspiration strikes again.


End file.
